Christmas Shopping

I like to help Mom with Christmas shopping! There are lots of cool things to get here. I like to pick out LOTS of presents for LOTS of people. I pick out something nice, and Mom asks me who I want to get it for. Why not one for everyone I love? I like it; I'm sure they would all like it!

Sick Again

My nose isn't working the way it is supposed to right now. I don't like it one bit. You know what does a good job of wiping my nose, though? Penguin. He is the best--there for me in everything! Mom seems to prefer that I use paper tissues, but Penguin is way softer.

I like Mom to kiss my owies, and right now, my nose is my owie. Why wipe first before kisses? It just makes it hurt more! Oh, and it hurts inside my mouth when I cough, so I try to get Mom to kiss my mouth while it's open, hoping some of the kiss power makes it inside.

Topping off a rough week, Mom made me return books to the library today. I really liked those books and was not ready to give them back! I'm not sure I like how this library system works. I miss Grover book already and Sam Ham and Cat Hat. What a bummer.

I did get more M & M's in a package from Grandpa and Grandma this week, though. And bubble wrap. Now, that's the way to brighten a guy's day!

Naming the Baby

Mom and Dad asked me what I thought we should name the new baby, and I said, "Momos." They asked me again today, and I told them the same thing. They don't seem sold on the name. I love momos! They're delicious! Why not name something new after something that is already great? A tribute to the Nepali food that I love most! Why is there even any discussion?

First Hit Single

I made up a song, and it seems to be an instant hit! I call it "Dal Bhat." The words are "dal bhat, dal bhat, dal bhat." It's important to rub your fists together for the full effect. All the people seem to enjoy my song very much! I usually perform the short version for them, but mom got the extended version when I first composed it the other night.

Not My Best Few Days

I got hurt with my purple plane on Thursday. I got poked right in the eye. It hurt a lot.
Then they made me put drops in my eyes. I hate those!
At least I got a lot of M&M's out of the deal! :)

Then, I barfed last night. And pooped on Mommy & Daddy's bed. Not a great night.

But, there was a full moon last night, and we had a dance party on the roof, followed by bedtime stories under the moon. So, there are some bright spots.
Oh, and the food cart at the Vineyard had momos yesterday for the third week in a row! Score! But, Jerry the dog was grumpy, and he's about the only dog in all of this country that I'm allowed to pet. :(

I Love the Moon

What's not to love? I love the moon. I want to fly there. I love to look at it. I love to talk about it. Dad says that when it isn't in the sky here that Grandpa and Grandma can see it!
It's in a good spot in the sky right now right before my bedtime, so I've gotten some good moon-watching time the past few days and even bedtime stories under the moon a few times. Good stuff.

I am making some friends, and I even saw a couple of them in a shop yesterday. I like the shop because it has all kinds of exciting things to touch and see. Mom seems tired after she takes me to the shop.
I like to ride in taxis here.
I do NOT like the wipes here. They stink. And hurt. The diapers aren't too nice either. Mom and Dad said there's a way I could be done with them, if I want to, but the toilets here are also not so good.
I've become quite fond of bananas.
I like to say new words. There are so many words to say!
I went to the zoo last week with my new friend Titus, and he says a lot of words. A random man grabbed me to have me in his picture. I didn't like that.
I like bucket baths again now.

No Nap and Time with Didi

Mom and Dad left for language class today, and only Muna Didi was here. I was supposed to take a nap. Hee hee.
Muna Didi let me get up.
She told Tom I didn't sleep.
When Mom asked me, "Isaiah, you really didn't sleep at all? No nap?", I raised my arms in the air and shouted, "Yay!"
They didn't seem quite as pleased with my victory. Strange.

Donuts and Tuk Tuks

I like them both! Donuts I miss from America, but Mom and I found a really good donut shop today, and Mom let me eat a whole donut all by myself! She seemed confused when I didn't want much lunch.
I had never been on a tuk tuk before living here in Kathmandu, but they are pretty fun. You just jump in the back with a bunch of other people (who hopefully don't grab your cheeks!), ride until you want to get off, and pay some money to the driver. Mom let me hold the money today. Tuk tuks are not quite as fun when they are crowded, but we caught two today that weren't that full, so I could squirm around some and stand up and hold the bar that the grownups hold. It's fun to say, too, isn't it? Tuk tuk! :)

Good Days and Bad Days

Yesterday was a bad one. Today was a good one. I didn't get much sleep at all on Monday night, so I was feeling pretty cranky yesterday. Mom & Dad seemed to notice that I wasn't in a very good mood.
Dad had some rails designed to fasten to a bed for me, so now it is like a crib for big boys. Really big boys! It's a super long bed, but I like it a lot. Makes me feel comfy and cozy. So, I slept better last night.
Today I got to run around in a YARD! And, I played with a worm. When I pet the worm, he jumped and danced all around. It was funny. I had pizza for lunch! And, I got to go to my favorite cafe Higher Grounds and play with toys and drink a banana smoothie!
And then I got to talk to Grandpa and Grandma on the computer. I would like them to come here, but it's nice to talk to the on the computer. I showed them how fast I can put my puzzled together now. Mom says I'm the puzzle king. Mom says I'm the king of a lot of stuff. It's good to be king!

A Guy Can't Catch a Break

Seriously! Now, I have a strep infection! It hurts! :(
And, they are making me take another kind of gross medicine, but this one isn't quite as bad as the cough syrup.
We did get to go to a Mexican restaurant tonight, though, and that was fun. I drank most of Mommy's milkshake. It was so good!

Muna Didi

Today was my first time to hang out with Didi by myself. Mom, Dad, Tom, & Alana all went to language class, so when I woke up from my nap, Muna came and played with me. She changed my diaper because, as she said, "big toilet." She put it on backward, but there is this weird little tape strip on these things, and it probably looks better in the back anyway, so I didn't mind. She took me and my babu (penguin) out to the veggie shop. I like Didi.
Oh, and I had a chocolate covered donut today that was delicious! The two things are unrelated.

Learning Nepali

I know two words in Nepali now--didi (sister/term of respect) and babu (baby/little boy). I call Muna Didi "didi" all the time now, and she smiles and giggles every time. She calls me "babu," so I call Penguin "babu" now as well.
They all keep trying to get me to say "Namaste," but I usually just smile and say, "Hi."
Mom & Dad are taking a class to learn Nepali. Not me. I don't need a class. I just soak it all up like a sponge. Probably be fluent by next week.

Comforts

Mom & Dad took me out to eat pizza last night! I was so excited to have pizza! I like a lot of foods, and I'll try almost anything, but come on, it's pizza! CHEESE PIZZA! And, we had french fries to start the meal! And, we got ice cream to bring home! What a night of treats!

Tonight, I told Mom I wanted to wear my guitar shirt and "fly" bottoms to bed. Grandma and Grandpa gave me a bunch of clothes for my birthday, and I love them! They have some of my favorite things on them, and they make me feel comfortable. And, I can say Grandma and Grandpa now, which seems to be a big deal. I look pretty good, if I do say so myself!

Mosquitos

The mosquitos here are mean. I don't think I've actually met a mosquito before coming here. Thankfully, we don't have these mean bugs in LA!
They bite!
Everyone seems very impressed that I haven't been scratching the giant red welts that have formed from these bites. Dad drew circles around them, and I wanted him to draw more.
Last night, mom crushed up some medicine and put it in juice for me. She gave me a straw, and I sucked up every last drop of it. She declared me King of the Straws, and I threw my arms in the air and cheered "Yay" for myself. I mean, it's cool to be king!

Attention

I get quite a lot of it from people here, but today was a first...An older man saw me chase the monkeys and seemed to take great delight in me. He tried touching my cheeks, which I don't really like, but then he pulled out a rupee coin and handed it to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek!

Some Things I Like & Some I Don't

I like saying new words. It gets a good reaction from all the adults!

I really like momos. They taste really good, but I don't like the spicy sauce on them.

I like Muna Didi a lot. She is very nice to me, and she cooks yummy food.

Most of the time I like dal baat, even if we do have it every day for lunch.

I really, really like Muna Didi's banana bread, and she's making some right now! :)

I like Higher Ground cafe and the bakery. They have yummy treats, and the cafe has toys to play with.

I do NOT like the milk here. They tell me it's from a water buffalo. I wish they would milk a cow.

I do NOT like the crowded streets. They scare me. Lots of random cars and motorcycles and bikes and people swerving all around and lots of noise.

I do not, as I mentioned before, like all the random people touching me.

I do not like that I'm not allowed to pet any of the dogs & cats here. They're everywhere! How do they expect a guy not to touch them?! Mom says I can't pet them if they don't have owners. I DID get to pet one dog the other day. His name is Jerry, and he lives at the Vineyard. Couldn't contain myself and had to shriek with delight a bit. I've been bottling up all this desire to pet something! There is a cat that seems to live at our house...not in it, but at it. I desparately want to pet him. Mom says I can only say hi. Look at him. He looks so nice, doesn't he?

Personal Space

Everyone here wants to touch me.
Everyone.
And they like to get up very close in my space.
Not sure I like that yet. I like my space.

First Day in Kathmandu

I (Rachel) will try to capture the highlights of Isaiah's first day in Kathmandu...
He woke up at 7:00 and was eager to see Tom and Alana. He has been magnetically attached to Alana today and kept very close tabs on her all day!
Explored the apartment and checked out the various rooms. He's sleeping on his blow-up bed in our room for the first stretch of days here, but he seems to like his room and was eager to play with some of his stuff. We put up his helicopter wall sticker right away, which made him pleased.
He met Moona Tamang, our house didi, when she came, and he frequently shadowed her throughout the day to see what she was doing.
The pressure cooker was completely fascinating and on the edge of being a little terrifying with its frequent forceful spewing of steam.
He wasn't too sure about dal baat at lunch, which is the standard Nepali lunch of dal (lentils), rice, and some sort of vegetable curry type of dish. Penguin and Big Bear had to try it, and once they each "ate" a couple of bites, he seemed more convinced and enjoyed his lunch.
He took a super long nap, despite the crazy loud construction happening right outside our window! We actually had to wake him so that he wouldn't get his nighttime sleep all afternoon and be awake at night. He didn't wake up easily but was happy to see Tom & Alana out on the porch and thoroughly enjoyed one of the cinnamon rolls Moona Didi made.
We put on his rain boots and rain jacket and headed to the main road to check out a bit of what is there. It's monsoon season, so there is a lot of rain--not that hard at any time but much of the day. Since there are few stretches of actual sidewalk, it makes for a combination of a frustrating and delightful walk for a toddler. His rainboots are a bit too big, and the muddy uneven ground can be really difficult for him to actually make his way through, but it also is quite fun for a little LA boy who almost never sees rain to stomp in a big puddle and make a big splash! He also really enjoyed holding the umbrella.
We ate at an Indian restaurant, and the lack of sleep hit him, and it was a rough dinner. None of the food was that spicy, but for him, it seemed upsetting. He was excited about the momos, which he has had before, but the sauce was spicy, so he cried. Then, even without the sauce, every time he would take a bite, he would fake cry and flop into me to get a big hug. It's a lot for a little guy, and it was a bit past his threshhold. We opted for a taxi to bring us back home!
He was very overdue for a bath when we got back to the house. I wasn't too sure how he would react to his first bucket bath. We will likely get a big plastic wash bin for him to use to sit in for baths, but we don't have one yet, so it was just the usual scoop and pour situation. He thought it was hilarious and wanted to keep scooping up cups full of water to dump on himself. He usually didn't get it all the way to the top of his head, so he'd end up with a face full and sputter some and then grin and say, "Funny" and go for more!
He's not too fond of the milk so far.
He woke up just a bit ago (it's 3:20 in the morning here! :( ) and said, "Done." Thankfully, he very patiently laid back down in his bed and waited and tried to go back to sleep. It took a bit, but he's back asleep soundly now. His bed is tucked between the edge of our bed and the wall, so he seems to be doing well with it.
It was a big day for Isaiah! It was a big day for us! A lot to adjust to and sleep to catch up on!

So Many Changes

I turned two this weekend.
We are leaving in three days to fly far away. Not sure all of what that means yet, but my home seems different, and people are all acting different.
Lots of changes for a little guy to digest.

Gearing up!
I picked out a headlamp today at REI.

Bring it on, Everest!

My Adventures Ahead

I am preparing to go with my Mom and Dad to Kathmandu, Nepal.
If you want to know all about what I think of Nepal, keep an eye on this blog! :)